Unions that work for the state's electric utilities said systematic reductions in line workers over a number of years at Connecticut Light & Power and the United Illuminating Co. have finally caught up with the companies.

The companies have been slow to restore power to hundreds of thousands of customers because reduced work forces can't be supplemented adequately with mutual-assistance crews from other states, union officials said....

....Cirillo wrote a letter this week to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, requesting a meeting to review staffing levels, which he said have been dramatically reduced over time, to the point where during emergencies the utilities bring in out-of-state crews rather than pay state workers to perform the repairs.

He estimated line crews for CL&P have been reduced by 40 percent to 50 percent since Hurricane Gloria 26 years ago.

The letter, which was obtained from Malloy's office by Hearst Connecticut Newspapers under the state's Freedom of Information Act, said the staffing levels are so low that even regular line work is subject to backlogs....

...Malloy, during a late Wednesday afternoon news conference, said after electric service is restored, there will be plenty of time to examine the state of Connecticut's utilities. But for now, he said, the number of people working to restore power is "spectacular." Asked about the union's staffing charges, the governor said he hadn't seen Local 420's letter.

"How much is too little, I think, is a very legitimate question," Malloy said...

...Tom Swan, executive director of the nonprofit Connecticut Citizen Action Group, a consumer advocate, said the 1998 legislation is responsible for worker attrition.
"We don't have the means to hold accountable the utilities to make sure we have the number of linesmen we need. ..," he said.

Greenwich club helps send kids back to school

Lisa Chamoff, Greenwich Time Staff Writer

Despite the first day of school looming ever closer, most of the children who came to Town Hall Wednesday were surprisingly happy.

Instead of negotiating the crowded aisles of office supply stores, they picked up bright new backpacks with everything they needed for the first day of school, provided free of charge by the Rotary Club of Greenwich. For the third year, the club assembled backpacks filled with school supplies for Greenwich families in need.

The distribution took place the day before what was to be the first day of school, which town officials announced Wednesday would be moved to Sept. 7 due to damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene....

...Eight-year-old Jack Morocho excitedly clutched his yellow and gray backpack, filled with the items he needs to start the year at Hamilton Avenue School next week.

"I get to meet the new teacher," Morocho said. "I get to learn new things. We sometimes play the computers and sometimes learn from the computer."Was he still excited by notebooks and colored pencils?"Oh, yes," Jack said.

Marlene Rojas and her three kids -- Ryan Llanos, 7, Brianna Llanos, 11, and Ariana Llanos, 13 -- all came to get their supplies before the start of elementary and middle school. As the girls discussed whether the colors of their backpacks were feminine enough, Rojas said she appreciated the program.

... Harry Gonzalez, 43, of New Haven, was convicted for the murder of 75-year old Joanne Trautwein, a retired Greenwich teacher. Gonzalez was found guilty of murder, robbery in the first degree and kidnapping in the first degree in 2007. In a ...

... you put a rosy spin on everything," Steve Sosnick, equity-risk manager at Timber Hill/Interactive Brokers Group in Greenwich, Connecticut told Reuters Thomson. "Our rally has quieted down since the data wasn't great this morning, and we still don't ...

... said in a press release. According the the CT Dept. of Health, the first case of West Nile Virus originated in Greenwich during 1999 and spread across the east coast, reaching states such as New Jersey and Maryland. The primary source of the disease ...

... he main sponsor. "The bank sees the Oyster Festival as a hallmark event in Fairfield County and with branches from Greenwich to Westport, three in Norwalk alone, it is important to First County Bank as a community bank to support the festival.

Due to the number of roads blocked by fallen trees and the high number of downed power lines around town, due to Hurricane Irene, the opening of the GreenwichPublic Schools for the 2011-2012 school year has been postponed to Wednesday, Sept.

... years of marriage, he was devastated. The loss made him reflect on her life -- and also on his own. The longtime Greenwich resident, who turns 93 in October, decided to write down his accomplishments, document his career, and number his passions. In ..

... was held on Tuesday, May 10 at Central Middle School with teams from Eastern, Central, Western, Middlesex, and Greenwich Catholic Middle Schools competing. The topic of this year's debate competition was the death penalty. Three of the five Eastern ...

Long before Greenwich became known as a haven for hedge funders and a bastion for bankers, it was a workingman's town. At just about the turn of the 20th century, it was home to farmers and gardeners, stone masons, tinsmiths and carpenters, plumbers and construction workers -- those who helped shape the gentleman farms and build the great estates. Many were immigrants from southern Europe who arrived in the late 1880s.

Now, as Labor Day approaches, it seems fitting to take a brief look back at that labor force and at the roots of the labor movement in Greenwich.

- In 1900, labor strife crossed the border into Greenwich. Some 200 Italian workmen brought the first labor demonstration to town -- armed with shovels, the American flag, and a marching band, they crossed the state line from Port Chester into Greenwich demanding "8 hours and $1.50 a day." Police were called in when the strikers threw their work tools at Greenwich workers.

- Local workers struck in 1903 at Field Point Park on the grounds of the Miralta estate. Wielding clubs, picks and gas pipes, they confronted those workers on the building project who refused to join their strike. A striker was shot and killed by a resisting worker.

- The first union member strike occurred in town in 1904 with the Ironworkers Union strikers asking for 50 cents an hour for their 8-hour day, instead of the 45 cents an hour they were paid for a 9-hour day......

Due to the inaccessibility of roads for bus transportation to school and concern with safe passage for walkers to school and to bus stops due to downed wires and debris that still remain after the hurricane, all schools will be closed tomorrow, Thursday September 1st, and Friday, September 2nd for teachers and students.

All student activities planned for Thursday and Friday are canceled with the exception of Greenwich High School athletic practices, since the athletic practices do not require bus transportation.

School will be open on Tuesday, September 6th for sixth and ninth grade orientation. Greenwich High School and Western Middle School will also hold orientations for students new to the school district on Tuesday (9/6). School will be open for all students on Wednesday, September 7, 2011.

This information is also available on the Greenwich Public Schools' web site. Please continue to check the web site and all other forms of communication at your disposal for further updates.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation throughout this extraordinary week.

... inside, police said. The incident took place about 10 am on the border between Port Chester and neighboring Greenwich, Conn., where North Main Street becomes West Putnam Avenue. A small bridge over the Byram River was the setting where the actual ...

... in their 5th floor apartment to make sure all was safe. We agreed, hoping to avoid trees falling on our house in Greenwich. Little did we know that Irene would change her mind, head straight to the Catskills, and that we were entering an area of ...

... (who police say seemed "zoned out") drank water out of his cell's toilet, police told the Stamford Advocate . Greenwich often allows TV shows to film around town but the first selectman's office deemed a proposal from an ABC hidden camera show ...

Greenwich officials are reporting that CL&P will be bringing nine extra line crews into Greenwich at 3 p.m. today in an effort to expedite power restoration.

According to CL&P's Outage Map, which is reportedly updated every 15 minutes, there were 5,953 customers (or about 21 percent of customers) without power in town as of 2 p.m.

At 10:30 a.m., there were about 6,303 CL&P customers in the Town of Greenwich without electrical service, down from 7,528 at 7:30 p.m.

The nine additional line crews will join the 12 which have already been working around town since Monday morning. In addition CL&P has deployed 15 tree crews in town — that's in addition to crews from the town Department of Public Works, which are responsible for clearing trees and debris from roadways.

There are 65 trees that currently need to be addressed by the town crews, this down from 145 yesterday evening.

Due to the impact of Hurricane Irene, our printed edition will be delayed this week. Please find the full copy of the paper online at Greenwich-post.com. We will update you regarding the printed edition. Thank you for understanding."

The town has released an updated list of streets that remain closed or partially closed as clean up efforts from the damage left by Tropical Storm Irene continue. Still 23% of households in Greenwich are without power.

A complete list of blocked or partially closed roads is available on our site. Staff and reader submitted video and photos of the storm's aftermath are online.

We desperately need your help. Our registration is coming in very slow.
Please run the attached as many times as possible.

Thank you ever so much!

Claudia Collins

Recreation Division

101 Field Point Road

Greenwich CT 06836-2540

Phone: 203 622-6485

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: August 31, 2011

For additional information contact:

Claudia Collins, Recreation Supervisor

203 622-6485

Press Release

Soccer with Aldwin Fall Soccer for Girls

The Department of Parks and Recreation announces that there will be a girls fall soccer program held on the Loughlin Avenue Field off of Stricklland Road in Cos Cob. The program will meet every Saturday (except for October 8th) beginning September 10th and continue until November 5th. Girls ages 9 -11 will meet from 9:00am – 10:30am. The coaches will be provided by Soccer with Aldwin.

For more information please call the Recreation Office at 203 618-7649 or Soccer with Aldwin at 203 857-4688. Registration forms can be found on line at our website at www.greenwichct.org. Check out Parks and recreation and click on youth programs.

Greenwich - News August 31, 2011

(Connecticut Post) A second Greenwich man turned himself in to police last week in connection with the overdose death of Riverside teenager Christopher Harris, who was found unresponsive at his Florence Road home in January.

(Librarian and Information Science News) Libraries in the metropolitan area also had increased traffic. The largest of the three libraries in Greenwich, Connecticut, put out 100 more chairs and opened up its training center, which has 16 extra computers, to accommodate the demand.

Greenwich mother of the year award goes to Cos Cob's Starbucks customer ….(theoriginalgreenwichdiva) So I am at Starbucks in Cos Cob working while drinking Starbucks' tea and this bitch walked over to me saying: "the tables in Starbucks are not meant for people coming in to work, but for people who just want to have a quick drink." Meanwhile, her two kids were sitting on the window sills with their feet in the purple chairs; I think she needs to teach her children that they should not put their dirty feet in upholstery seats.

Aug. 30--Despite the rocky stock market in recent weeks and social games maker Zynga's decision to delay its initial public offering, experts say a flood of companies will enter the public markets to raise capital this fall....

.... there on the issuer side," said Kathleen Smith, a principal at Renaissance Capital, an IPO investment advisory in Greenwich, Conn. "The investors aren't as enthused yet, that's not as easy." Large tech companies such as Chicago-based daily deals ...